Though united nominally by the Church of Rome, medieval Europe was in fact a diverse society, in terms of belief and social practices. This diversity led to controversy and upheaval in the centuries after 1000, as religious authorities demanded greater uniformity and obedience. This book of essays by leading scholars is about the sources of dissent and diversity in medieval society and the Church's attempt to repress dissent and enforce conformity to its beliefs between the years 1000 and 1500. No book has hitherto attempted so broad an approach to the issue of discontent in medieval Europe.

Though united nominally by the Church of Rome, medieval Europe was in fact a diverse society, in terms of belief and social practices. This diversity led to controversy and upheaval in the centuries after 1000, as religious authorities demanded greater uniformity and obedience. This book of essays by leading scholars is about the sources of dissent and diversity in medieval society and the Church's attempt to repress dissent and enforce conformity to its beliefs between the years 1000 and 1500. No book has hitherto attempted so broad an approach to the issue of discontent in medieval Europe.

The reign of Edward III is usually remembered for his stirring victories over the French and Scots. Yet these triumphs occurred against a backdrop of economic upheaval, crime, high taxation, and the Black Death. In this incisive account Scott Waugh examines the strains on English life in this remarkable era, and reveals an interlocking network of hierarchies at the local level enabling Edward to achieve his ends. The compliance of his subjects was only achieved after much contention, and Professor Waugh shows how for the first time Parliament, and in particular the House of Commons, became the focal point of national politics. This latest addition to the highly successful series of Cambridge Medieval Textbooks contains an extensive guide to further reading, in addition to a glossary of some of the more abstruse medieval terms.

This thorough examination of the feudal powers of English kings in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries is the only study to analyze the actual pattern of royal grants and the grantees' use of their rights, and to place them in the social context of marriage, kinship, and landholding within the English elite. The royal rights, known as feudal incidents, included custody of a tenant's lands when he died leaving minor heirs, the arrangement of the heir's marriage, and consent to the widow's remarriage. Scott Waugh shows how the king exercised those rights and how his use of feudal incidents affected his relations with the tenants-in-chief. He concludes that royal lordship was of fundamental importance in reinforcing the power and prestige of the monarchy and in offering the king a valuable source of patronage.

English kings, therefore, devoted considerable effort to defining and institutionalizing their feudal authority in the thirteenth century. It is also clear that families living under royal lordship were profoundly concerned about these rights, especially since marriage was of such critical importance in providing for the smooth transfer of lands from one generation to another. Given the hazards of life in the Middle Ages, inheritance by minors was a frequent occurrence, and the king's distribution of feudal incidents was therefore a delicate political problem. It raised issues not only about royal finances and favoritism but also about the fate of families.

Originally published in 1988.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This thorough examination of the feudal powers of English kings in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries is the only study to analyze the actual pattern of royal grants and the grantees' use of their rights, and to place them in the social context of marriage, kinship, and landholding within the English elite. The royal rights, known as feudal incidents, included custody of a tenant's lands when he died leaving minor heirs, the arrangement of the heir's marriage, and consent to the widow's remarriage. Scott Waugh shows how the king exercised those rights and how his use of feudal incidents affected his relations with the tenants-in-chief. He concludes that royal lordship was of fundamental importance in reinforcing the power and prestige of the monarchy and in offering the king a valuable source of patronage. English kings, therefore, devoted considerable effort to defining and institutionalizing their feudal authority in the thirteenth century. It is also clear that families living under royal lordship were profoundly concerned about these rights, especially since marriage was of such critical importance in providing for the smooth transfer of lands from one generation to another. Given the hazards of life in the Middle Ages, inheritance by minors was a frequent occurrence, and the king's distribution of feudal incidents was therefore a delicate political problem. It raised issues not only about royal finances and favoritism but also about the fate of families. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.